Top 100 Horner Headed South

Dave Telep

09/05/2005

As it turns out, Dennis Horner didn't need any more official visits. The small forward out of New Jersey returned home from a weekend in Raleigh and ended his recruitment.

On Sunday night, the North Carolina State football team dropped a tough game at the hands of Virginia Tech. A day later, the basketball team picked up the spirits of the Wolfpack faithful by procuring a commitment from a Top 100 prospect.

Dennis Horner, a small forward who unofficially visited the Pack for its game against the Hokies, returned home to New Jersey and made it official by committing to Herb Sendek's club over West Virginia and Notre Dame.

"I liked everything down there," Horner said. "It's N.C. State, it's the ACC. I think I can get to my full potential down there. My family played a big role. I guess that's where they wanted me to go the whole time."

Horner, a 6-foot-7 senior out of Absecon (N.J.) Holy Spirit, averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game as a junior. A monster spring and strong led to his inclusion in the Scout.com Top 100 and he debuted at No. 84 last month.

A noted 3-point specialist, Horner has a strong overall feel for the game and his perimeter package along with versatility would have made him quite the fit for any of the programs recruiting him.

However, in the end, the Pack was able to get him onto campus unofficially and from there Horner had his mind made up.

"The tradition there, the people there and how they support it … it's big time basketball."

The commitment marks the second player from the Top 100 to pick the Pack. Larry Davis (No. 79), a guard out of New York City and Dan Werner, another forward from the Northeast, were the two earlier commitments to Herb Sendek's program.